The commencement of spring this week saw young lamb supplies come to the fore. Victorian supplies experienced the greatest improvement after what has been a slow start to the season, mainly due to the cold conditions. Bendigo on Monday offered nearly 20,000 young lambs, while Wagga in NSW consigned a similar number.
The rise in young lamb supplies saw the eastern states total lamb tally lift 40% week-on-week, to 162,443 head. Young lamb quality has reportedly been outstanding at most centres, although the market at Wagga lacked intensity, which resulted in cheaper trends.
At the conclusion of Thursday’s markets:
The eastern states restocker lamb indicator gained 40¢, to settle on 613¢/kg cwt
Merino lambs increased 16¢ to 539¢/kg cwt
Light lambs were unchanged for the week, on 545¢/kg cwt
The Eastern States Trade Lamb Indicator (ESTLI) eased 4¢ week-on-week, to 590¢/kg cwt
The heavy lamb indicator was 2¢ higher, on 382¢/kg cwt.
